digression
noun
di·gres·sion
dī-ˈgre-shən 
də-
1
: the act or an instance of leaving the main subject in an extended written or verbal expression of thought : the act or an instance of digressing in a discourse or other usually organized literary work
Every place Hamilton, his parents, or his wife visited over a century's time is described at length; everyone he met merits at least a minor biographical digression.—
Willard Sterne Randall
Willard Sterne Randall2
archaic
: a going aside
Examples of digression in a Sentence
the professor's frequent and extended digressions are the stuff of campus legend
Recent Examples on the Web
All the digressions and discombobulations, and the need to flesh out so many angles of the Stacy/Aislin dynamic, impact the directness some of the play’s key messages about mortality, community and communication.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 13 June 2025
The author also varies the texture of the book by inserting poems, quotations, dramatic dialogue, a veiled account of her unhappy days at boarding school, and a lengthy digression on the German mystic Friederike Hauffe, who claimed to be clairvoyant and to communicate with spirits.
—James Marcus, New Yorker, 2 June 2025
Whatever your feelings about Tarantino, give the Oscar winner this: His genre subversions and outrageous digressions are far livelier and more inspired than anything Ritchie concocts here.
—Will Leitch, Vulture, 27 May 2025
There are a handful of digressions in the category of local color, such as a francophone farmer who cooks haute cuisine and a bounty hunter nicknamed Preacher, who adorns his violent assaults with Bible verses.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 20 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for digression
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Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 13 June 2025
The author also varies the texture of the book by inserting poems, quotations, dramatic dialogue, a veiled account of her unhappy days at boarding school, and a lengthy digression on the German mystic Friederike Hauffe, who claimed to be clairvoyant and to communicate with spirits.
—James Marcus, New Yorker, 2 June 2025
Whatever your feelings about Tarantino, give the Oscar winner this: His genre subversions and outrageous digressions are far livelier and more inspired than anything Ritchie concocts here.
—Will Leitch, Vulture, 27 May 2025
There are a handful of digressions in the category of local color, such as a francophone farmer who cooks haute cuisine and a bounty hunter nicknamed Preacher, who adorns his violent assaults with Bible verses.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 20 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for digression
Cite this Entry
“Digression.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/digression. Accessed 30 Jun. 2025.
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